Lytham Pubs

Tonight we had tickets to a punk show at the theatre. Karen suggested Lytham for pre-theatre bevs, given we had a good chunk of time available, so Lytham it was. There are a few good pubs in Lytham now, which makes it worth a visit.

Willows Coffee House

I met Karen in this caff on Highfield Road in Blackpool, which was a new one on me. I’d already scoffed a sausage and marmalade sandwich at home by way of breakfast so made do with a brew here. I enquired about their range of teas and stopped our hostess at chai.

‘Do you want milk in that?’

‘Ooh no thanks.’

‘Sorry about the milk. It was powdered and the milk was already in it. If you don’t like it I’ll get you something else.’

I enjoyed it for a change and supped away as Karen tucked into her poached eggs on toast (which looked great, soz no pic).

I liked this place and made a mental note to come back at some point.

J D Drinkwater’s Ale House

When on Highfield Road it would be rude to not call into Jimmy’s for a beer. I’m not sure I’ve blogged about this place before – probably because of its location, not falling naturally into a crawl. Anyway we shoehorned it into today because why not? We weren’t meeting Steve and Kathryn in Lytham until a little later so we had the time.

Hmm no dark beers on today but I have long since had a soft spot for Coach House – since I enjoyed their banoffee beer at Liverpool Beer Festival in around 2010 – and know their beers never disappoint. There is usually a Coach House to be found on in here. I went for the Cheshire Gold.

This is a belting micropub. The locals huddle at the front of the pub, in the window, at the bar, underneath the tv showing the racing. I prefer to sit at the rear of the pub, looking forward and observing from a distance. I like to be in my own little world within a pub as opposed to being by a window and seeing life going on outside.

Again soz no pics (I’m not sure I’m quite awake yet) but there’s a piano and BFC memorabilia and it’s just a bloody good pub where you can while away a few hours drinking relatively safe beer. But there was no time for that today, as we had a bus to catch to Lytham. In fact, there’s one due in five minutes – lets run for that one.

Taps

Taps is a must visit on any trip to Lytham. It’s a Greene King pub but you wouldn’t know it. There is an excellent range of ales – and, crucially, there’s always a mild on.

This pub has a very homely, cosy feel and you’re definitely away from the outside world in here. It’s almost like a country pub.

I headed to the extreme left of the pub, where there’s a little nook housing what I remembered to be very comfy seats.

I do like a good chair in a pub. More of this sort of thing.

Karen looked up and remarked on the old fashioned lamp shades.

So here’s me, sitting in an old armchair, under an old lampshade, drinking a pint of mild. I sometimes wonder if I’m turning into Ena Sharples.

To add to the escape from the outside world, I can never get any phone signal in here. I’m sure that has its advantages for some, but I have beer admin to do – mainly checking into Untappd before I forget what I’ve had – so I was happy to discover they had WiFi, so I faffed about logging into that for a bit with some success.

Right now it’s time for the first #LooReview of the day. My first impression was that they smelled lovely, which is always a good start. I then spotted lots of Lowry art on the walls.

But the most remarkable – and decidedly unusual – thing about these loos was the sheer quantity of loo roll available.

I make that 12 rolls available in that one cubicle (albeit some are straddling between cubicles). It was just as well I didn’t need to access the higher up ones because I couldn’t reach them. I’d have to ask the woman in the next cubicle to bat one over to me.

I’ll confess I was reluctant to leave the lush Titanic Mild behind but it was now time to meet Steve and Kathryn for lunch. They live over this way now so it was nice to visit them on their own patch.

Lytham Heritage Centre

‘Let’s have a look in here,’ said Karen (more of this sort of thing to follow in my next blog).

We were surprised to see our old pal Stewart manning the counter. Today there was an exhibition of art from local schoolchildren. Some of the work was quite remarkable and we were very humbled. I wished I’d paid more attention in art class in school but the teacher was boring and I was bullied at the back of the class so I can’t say I looked forward to those classes. It’s a shame really because I loved drawing when I was younger.

Anyway its lunchtime so we couldn’t loiter here for too long.

Northern Monkey

This is my favourite pub in Lytham. So much love and effort has gone into this place, the staff are super friendly and the food and beer offerings are excellent. The branding is great too (and everywhere you look).

Even before we’d set foot in the place, I was cheered by the great music piping out.

Steve was to remark on the great music later, too.

Right, to the bar!

Obvs I wanted the Turning Point Second Breakfast but not at that strength (a) on a crawl and (b) before I’ve eaten. I went for the coffee mild, which was lush. Loving all these mild options today. More of this sort of thing.

Now let me show you around because this really is a fab place.

We were directed to our reserved table.

‘Jane look – are we coming back later?’

I love a pub with games. As part of my mental health management, I’ve been thinking about things that I enjoy doing and trying to factor more of this stuff in. Playing games is one of these things. I bought a Meta Quest VR headset a little while ago and I love playing on that, escaping into another world. I’ve been enjoying Puzzling Places, doing 3D jigsaws, whilst listening to Absolute Radio and singing along to the banging tunes. It’s a joyful pastime.

Anyway we’re here for food so lets take a look at the menu.

On my last visit here, before I went to see Rick Astley at Lytham Festival last year (which I don’t appear to have blogged, soz), I had a burger and it was bloody lovely. I find it hard to get excited by burgers as a rule so the fact that I remembered this one means it must have been remarkable. I do love a brioche bun. But which burger to have? Well I have developed a taste for Korean Fried Chicken recently (courtesy of the panko counter at Asda) so I went for that one. And here it is:

The food here was every bit as good as I remembered and the portion size was just perfect for me too. I perhaps should have made more of an effort to polish off the lovely salad but I was a couple of pints in by now and who wants salad at that point?

I smiled across the room at the little dog with its own cushion.

The toilets in here are up LOTS of stairs. Think Wetherspoons but further. So my tip is to set off before you’re dancing.

I’ve never been for a Bottomless Brunch but this seems like a good offer.

I could happily have stayed here but Karen suggested a return to Taps so I could have more of that lush mild and I was all over that so off we headed out this door.

Taps (again)

It was much busier in here now, with a short wait to get served (just as well, as I’d lost everyone else on the way in and didn’t know what to order them). I hoped we’d find somewhere to sit. At last the troops arrived and I had another pint of mild in my hand. I was happy.

We sat at high chairs on a high table (not my favourite) but I quickly spotted a table in the corner being vacated so sprinted over there so we could settle down more comfortably.

It’s usually good for celebrity spotting in here, being in a more well to do area. I scanned the room and spotted Richard Keogh and Steve Banks, former Blackpool players who are now on the coaching staff at the club.

I can’t put my finger on what it is about this pub but there’s something stopping me feeling quite at home here. I felt like the pub was going on around me but I didn’t feel I was part of it. Like I was in the holosuite on Star Trek or something. It felt like this pub should be in Poulton, where I get the same feeling. It’s just not ME, despite having great components such as a good beer range, a lush mild, comfy seats, being away from the outside world.

Anyway there’s one more place to visit before we head into town so lets head off there now.

Craft House

This place was rammed, too, although granted it’s only small so it doesn’t take many people to fill up.

No dark beer offering so what should I have? Brew York was the most alluring pump clip but citrus gah! I went for a half of the Lakeland Gold.

We managed to find a couple of high stools at a shelf outside the toilet door; not ideal but at least I had somewhere to sit. Karen paid a visit and soon emerged, quite insistent that I see something in the toilets.

Following a visit to the music museum in Marrakesh (no blog, soz, but no beer to report really), I have developed an interest in learning the guitar. There was a room in said museum where you could play the instruments and I enjoyed playing on this instrument.

As I played (only briefly) I began to get a feel for which notes worked together. I’ve never understood how to create music – despite recently composing tunes in my sleep subconsciously – and wonder if having an instrument to play would help me get over this mental block. It could also aid my mental health, giving me a focus. We actually passed a guitar shop in St Annes on the bus into Lytham today. Food for thought… Anyway I don’t know why there was a guitar in the toilets here and whether it was supposed to be played but I had a little tinker anyway.

We soon relocated to a vacant small table, squashed up in a corner by the window at the front of the pub, where we all at least could sit down. It was good to see another busy pub but I find I can relax much better in a quiet one. I do like it here, though, as it’s one of those friendly micropubs where everyone talks to each other.

Now it was time to think about getting into town for the show. I headed to the Uber app and, as if by magic, one rocked up within minutes. I know some people don’t like Uber but I found them invaluable on a visit to America around ten years ago and have used them back home ever since.

Right, shall we have a beer before the show?

Rhythm & Brew Room

This is my current go-to pub in Blackpool town centre. The beer offerings are very much me and I feel I can relax in here. They have good bands on too – and a good selection of games to play. The staff are fab and the locals are friendly too.

This is the first stout I’ve seen brewed on site.

Karen had gone home sick by this point (not beer related – she hadn’t been well all day but, like a trooper, she carried on as long as she could) so it was just me, Steve and Kathryn in here. Given that I’m not really into punk and had only suggested the show because I thought Karen would enjoy it, I took the decision to bail on the theatre. Steve and Kathryn carried on to the show while I took the opportunity for a dive into the fridge here with one of these, which came recommended by my hostess.

Lee soon arrived to collect me and get me safely home.

That had been rather an enjoyable day out with friends and just the tonic I needed. With Steve and Kathryn moving to Lytham, perhaps I will enjoy exploring the area more over the coming months and years. There’s certainly no shortage of places to eat over there and perhaps there are more good pubs to be found too (Lytham Bierhaus and Lytham Hop House need visits). I look forward to visiting again to explore further.

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